Overhead guard for materials handling trucks



July 15, 1969 a. B. BECKER 3,455,599

OVERHEAD GUARD FOR MATERIALS HANDLING TRUCKS Filed Jan. 31, 1968 3 Sheets5heet 1 Izweiii'oa": 52 (me rd 5. 56: (rer' f y M Ma: r 02! uiioz zze ys OVERHEAD GUARD FOR MATERIALS HANDLING TRUCKS B. B. BECKER July 15, 1969 S SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 31

Zerna rd B. Be ken by M, Ma 9 W July 15, 1969 ECK 3,455,599

OVERHEAD GUARD FOR MATERIALS HANDLING TRUCKS Filed Jan. 31, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet L5 Izwezzioa: Bernard 5. 86: Ire r United States Patent O 11.5. Cl. 296-102 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to overhead guards for the protection of operators of materials handling trucks and to a method of gaining vertical access to the battery compartments of these trucks without removing the overhead guards.

Background of the invention A typical materials handling truck is equipped with a forwardly projecting fork frame or other load handling device which is mounted for vertical movement on a telescopically extensible, tiltable mast structure located ahead of the operators station. The truck may be used to transport materials held by the load engaging devices and to stack these materials vertically to various heights to which the fork frame can be elevated on the mast structure.

Whenever the materials being handled are at a point higher than the operators head, there is always a danger that he may be struck by falling objects which have become accidentally dislodged from the load or from adjacent storage areas. To prevent injury to the operator, various types of overhead guards have heretofore been provided.

These overhead guards have generally been mounted on the truck in such a manner as to interfere with vertical access to the battery compartment, and this presents a problem whenever the batteries must be removed or replaced. Since the batteries are too heavy to be lifted by hand, a chain drop or other overhead hoist must be used, thus necessitating removal of the interfering overhead guard from the truck.

This is not a serious problem if the batteries are removed from the truck only occasionally, as for instance Where the truck is used for only one shift and the batteries are then recharged overnight while still in the truck. However, it is frequently the case that the truck is used for two or three eight hour shifts. In such circumstances, it is the practice to remove the run-down batteries and replace them with fully charged batteries at the end of each shift. The necessary removal and replacement of the overhead guard each time the batteries are changed results in inconvenience, excessive consumption of maintenance time, and loss of operating time. Also, sometimes the guard is not replaced, thus putting the operator is unnecessary danger.

Some manufacturers have attempted to overcome this problem by constructing the guard so that the rear supporting members can be disconnected from and reconnected to the rear portion of the truck. Some embodiments also allow the guard to be tilted forward so as to provide even greater access to the battery compartment. However, even though these inventions are an improvement over guards which must be completely removed from the truck, they are still inconvenient and consume maintenance and operating time because they must be disconnected, tilted forward and back and reconnected.

Other overhead guards are supported at only one end and can be tilted out of the way to provide vertical "ice access to truck components. However, guards of this type offer the operator much less protection, since the guard is usually smaller in size and is unsupported at one end.

Summary The present invention is an improvement over the prior art because it solves several of the problems previously noted. The overhead guard has a hinged portion above the battery compartment which can be raised to provide an opening through which the chain drop of an overhead hoist may pass. Thus, the need for totally or partially removing the guard from the truck in order to change the batteries is eliminated. Maintenance time is reduced to a minimum and available operating time is increased.

The hinged portion of the present invention also provides for maximum convenience. It is sufficiently heavy to remain firmly in the down position without having to be latched or bolted down. It is, however, not so heavy that it cannot be easily raised by one man.

At the same time, the degree of protection afforded the operator is not compromised. The guard is still supported by four upright members; and the hinged portion is firmly supported at both ends.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a side view of a materials handling truck having mounted thereon an overhead guard structure which employs my invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the overhead guard structure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side view, partially broken away, showing the means of connecting thef ront supporting members to the overhead guard.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 2.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now in detail to the drawings, a materials handling truck is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The truck includes a body and frame portion 12 mounted upon rear steering wheels 14 and front drive wheels 16, a counterweight 18 usually made of metal and removably secured to the rear end of the truck, fork 19, and a mast structure 20 which is telescopically extensible and tiltable in forward or rearward directions by means of tilt piston cylinder assemblies 22.

An operators station includes a steering wheel 26, a seat 28, a cowl portion 30, and a plurality of control levers and pedals which enable the operator to control variously the motion of the truck and the tilt and elevation of the mast 20 and the up and down movement of fork 19.

The main power plant and accessories for operating the truck are located inside the body. The truck is driven by an electric motor which derives its power from a battery contained in a battery compartment 31 located forward of counterweight 18 and adjacent seat 28.

An overhead guard 36 is supported by tubular rear supporting members 32 and tubular front supporting members 34.

All of the foregoing is old, and what is claimed as new will now be discussed with particular reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. One side of the guard consists of a tubular beam 38 which is welded to angle beam 40 at the rear and to angle beam 42 at the front of the guard. Angle beam 40 is attached preferably by welding to supporting members 32 to provide the rear support for the overhead guard. Tubular beams 38 and 48 are attached to front supporting members 34 by means of insertable solid elbows 35 as shown in FIG. 5. Reinforcing webs 37 are preferably included. Horizontal rectangular beams 44 are welded at one end to tubular beam 38 and at the other end to an intermediate longitudinally extending rectangular beam 47 the rear end of which rests on and is welded to beam 40. Beams 44 are also welded to an intermediate underlying beam 46 at their points of crossing. Beams 46 and 47 are main longitudinal supports and are larger in cross section than beams 44. They run the length of the guard, being welded at either end to beams 40 and 42.

Tubular beam 48 forms part of the outer perimeter of the guard 36 on the side opposite beam 38. Beam 48 bends at an obtuse angle at 49 and the part 48' cuts diagonally and horizontally across guard 36 to a point abutting beam 47. The angle at which beam 48 is bent must not be so great as to overstress the' beam, since this would result in a weakening of the-entire guard structure, thus reducing the protection afforded the operator. Rectangular beams 50 are welded at one end to tubular beam 48 and at the other end to beam 47. Rectangular beams 52 are at right angles to and support beams 50. They are welded at one end to tubular beam 48' and at the other end to angle beam 42. Beams 50 and 52 are welded to each other at their points of crossing.

The outer perimeter of hinged portion 54 is formed by two rectangular beams 56 and 58. Beam 56 is bent at a right angle at 57 so as to form two sides'56 and 56 of the hinged portion. Beam 58 is bent at an obtuse angle at 59 substantially the same as the angle 49 formed in tubular beam 48 to form two sides 58 and 58. Side 58 is 1 parallel to side 56, and the other side 58 is parallel to beam 48. Rectangular beams 60 are parallel to angles 40 and 42 and are welded to the parallel sides of beams 56 and 58. Beams 62 are parallel to beams 46 and 47 and are welded to the other sides 56' and 58' of beams 56 and 58. Beams 60 and 62 are welded together at their points of crossing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, hinged portion 54 is supported at one end by angle 40 and at the other end by one side of hinge 64 to which beam side 58' is secured by welding. The other side of hinge 64 is welded to tubular beam 48' so that hinged portion 54 can be opened upwardly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6.

It should now be apparent that batteries may be removed from the truck quickly and easily by lifting the hinged portion 54 of the guard to the position of FIG. 1 and dropping a chain hoist through the opening thus created. After the batteryhcange is complete, the hinged portion 54 can be lowered back into place.

As described in the foregoing illustrative embodiment of the invention, there is provided an overhead guard 36 which allows quick and easy access of a chain hoist to the battery compartment without sacrificing protection to the operator.

I claim:

1. An overhead guard for material handling trucks of the type driven by batteries and an associated electric motor, said guard being horizontal and supported at a height above the operators head by upwardly extending members mounted on the truck, said guard comprising an open lattice of crossing beams and having a hinged portion located directly above the battery compartment of the truck, a longitudinal solid beam extending from front to back intermediate the sides of said guard, a beam bordering a portion of one side of the guard and then bending at a substantial angle and running partially across the Width of the guard to a point abutting said longitudinal solid beam intermediate its ends, said hinged portion being supported by and upwardly swingable about said angularly disposed part of said bordering and bending beam to permit vertical access to said battery compartment without the necessity of totally or partially disconnecting the guard from the truck.

2. The overhead guard as set forth in claim 1 further characterized by solid rectangular lattice beams running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the guard and still other rectangular lattice beams running parallel to the transverse axis of the guard and at right angles to the said'longitudinal lattice beams, said lattice beams being welded together at their points of crossing or abutting.

3. The overhead guard as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said hinged portion is heavy enough to remain firmly in down position while the truck is in operation without having to be latched or bolted down,

but at the same time being light enough that it can be raised without difficulty by one man.

4. The overhead guard as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that all of the supporting members are tubular, one side member of said guard is tubular for the full length of the guard, the bordering and bending beam is tubular, said guard including from and rear transverse members in the form of angles and all the remaining members of the guard including the hinged portion are solid beams some extending longitudinally and some extending transversely and welded to each other where they cross or abut, and the ends of said intermediate longitudinally extending solid beam rest on said angles, the rear of said hinged portion when in closed position resting on the said rear angle and the front ends of all longitudinal beams other than those in the hinged portion resting on said front angle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,911,232 11/1959 Hasting 296102 3,289,871 12/1966 LaTourneau 296-102 BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner ROBERT R. SONG, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 280l50 

